Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Shepley Health Centre on 26 August 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good for providing safe, effective, responsive and well-led services. We also found it to be outstanding for providing caring services.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they found it very easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. The practice had an in-house audiology suite and provided a cardiac clinic within the surgery. This was of benefit to local people and reduced the need to travel to a hospital for some aspects of their care.
• There was a clear and supportive leadership structure amongst the three partners and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour (a legal requirement to be open and honest with patients when things go wrong).

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• Results from the national GP patient survey and feedback from patients during the inspection were of the highest level and demonstrated the caring culture evident across the practice. This included access to services, convenience, being seen promptly, feeling listened to and confidence in the clinician they saw.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure that all clinical audits are repeated to drive improvements across the practice.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice